Silvio Berlusconi

Silvio Berlusconi (29 September 1936-) was Prime Minister of Italy from 10 May 1994 to 17 January 1995 (succeeding Carlo Azeglio Ciampi and preceding Lamberto Dini), from 11 June 2001 to 17 May 2006 (succeeding Giuliano Amato and preceding Romano Prodi), and from 8 May 2008 to 16 November 2011 (succeeding Prodi and preceding Mario Monti). Berlusconi was a leader of the Forza Italia and The People of Freedom parties, and he was called an authoritarian strongman and a populist by his opponents.

Biography
Silvio Berlusconi was born in Milan, Lombardy, Italy on 29 September 1936, the son of a bank clerk. He studied law and then made his fortune in the building industry, where he was involved in the construction of new satellite towns, notably in Milan during the 1970s. At that time, he was also a good friend of the Milan Italian Socialist Party leader Bettino Craxi. He became involved in the entertainment business in 1979 and built up an unrivalled national media empire whose holding company, Fininvest, owned several national television channels, radio stations, newspaper and publishing houses, supermarkets, building contractors, and other organizations. As the major parties of Italy lost support due to corruption allegations, Berlusconi founded the new Forza Italia party, which quickly gained popular support due to Berlusconi's reputation for managerial competence and efficiency and for his promise to cleanse the political system of corruption and scandal. His party won the March 1994 elections, and he formed a coalition with the fascist National Alliance of Italy and the autonomist Lega Nord. As Prime Minister, he failed to reform the social welfare system due to inability to achieve a popular consensus, and his association with Craxi damaged his association. He resigned after seven months in office due to corruption allegations, and he tried in vain to bring down his successor Lamberto Dini, losing the 1996 elections to a center-left coalition. He returned to power in 2001, serving until 2006; he again served as prime minister from 2008 to 2011. In 2013, he became a member of the Senate, but he was convicted of tax fraud and was ordered to perform unpaid social community work instead of going to prison, as he was over 70 years old.